By The New Year's Light
by MissKate
Summary: As the New Year approaches, the Gilmore girls are dealt their love cards... * Chapter 5 is UP, after more than a year! *
1. Chapter 1

**By The New Year's Light  
**_A "Gilmore Girls" Fan Fiction_  
_By MissKate_

_Chapter 1..._

"_Oh, 2001…Where has the time gone,_" Lorelai thought leisurely as she slowly drank a cup of coffee at a table in Luke's Diner. She had been sitting there for over 30 minutes, staring into the emptiness of the same addictive coffee cup. 

Just as she took another deep sip of the coffee, Luke fell into the chair opposite from where she was seated and stared at her with his mysteriously caring eyes. "Usually you are on your forth cup by now," he began as Lorelai smiled meekly. "Is something wrong?" 

"Oh, you know. Life…" 

"Pretty broad answer, but maybe this will help to cheer you up," Luke replied as he pulled a plate out from under the table and placed in front of Lorelai. "A late breakfast." The dish, decorated as affectionately as the Santa Claus burger had been a year before, bestowed a waffle with blueberry eyes, a strawberry nose, a whipped cream mouth, and a little syrup to add the illusion of hair. 

Lorelai laughed. "It's staring at me," she smirked. 

"You don't HAVE to eat it—" 

"No, no…I love it. I just don't think I CAN eat it," she began in a mediating tone. 

Luke rolled his eyes. "Do I even want to know why?" 

"Well, it is kind of like that vegetarian thing. They can't eat anything that once smiled, and I can't eat anything while it's still smiling!" 

"I was right, I didn't want to know," Luke said to himself as he picked himself up from the table. 

Not acknowledging Luke's absence, Lorelai continued to talk. "I mean, how awful would it be to poke into those unblinking eyes?" 

Luke walked behind the counter and began to serve another customer, but he continued to hear Lorelai jabbering in the background.

"Or to remove part of his cheek? How would you feel if someone just...bit off _your_ cheek?"

***

Sorry that was so short!! I just wanted to have an introduction of sorts. I will get the next chapter up soon! Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**By The New Year's Light  
**_A "Gilmore Girls" Fan Fiction_  
_By MissKate_

_Chapter 2..._

"Oh, I wish it could be winter all year long…" Rory said sighing as she leaned into her boyfriend, Dean. 

The two walked together in the bright afternoon sun toward Luke's Diner where they had agreed to meet up with Lorelai. An afternoon burger between the mother and daughter duo had become a daily ritual over the course of Rory's winter break, and since Rory was spending the day with Dean, they all decided to make it a threesome. 

Pushing through the door, the first thing that the couple heard was the relentless jabbering of Lorelai. "And oh! For it to be watching…staring…at me as I took that first bite!"

"Hi Mom!" Rory said greeting Lorelai as she sat down, with Dean next to her. 

"Oh, the sheer terror!" Lorelai continued. 

Rory turned around, her eyes searching for Luke and an explanation to her mother's madness. "Luke! What's going on?!" 

"Hey…I was just trying to cheer her up. She been going off like that for…" He paused as he checked his watch. "12 minutes. I tried to take the waffle away once and she nearly bit my head off!" 

Still in her own little world and oblivious to her surroundings, Lorelai's unrelenting speech lingered on. "I couldn't possibly eat him, especially now! He's more than just a waffle. He's…a member of the family." Lorelai looked up and made eye contact with her daughter. "I would like you to meet your new brother, Philip Gilmore. Or…is Philip Gilmore…" She paused and bestowed a perplexed look on her face. "Luke!!! What's your last name?" 

"Danes," he replied, annoyed. 

"Ahhh! Philip Gilmore-Danes…I'm liking it!" 

"Great," Luke said, under his breath. "I have a waffle for a son." 

Looking at the plate, Rory decided to play along. "Well, it's nice to meet you Phil…Philly…Phil-man." 

"No, it's Philip." 

"Sorry…Philip." 

"Good girl. Now, Philip, you will sit here," said Lorelai as she put the waffle on the chair next to her, and then called over to Luke. "Luke!!! Do you have a high chair?" Luke gave her a glare from behind the counter. "Never mind then! He just will have to _listen_ to the conversation…" 

Luke walked up to the table, ready to take their orders. "So, do you want to order now, or would you like to _peruse_ the menu?" 

"You have menus?" Rory asked, but quickly took it back when she received a glare from Luke. "That's okay…I think we're ready." 

"Three cheeseburgers," Dean told Luke, who nodded in return. 

"Four! Four cheeseburgers," Rory interjected before Lorelai had a fit and simply smiled up at Luke. 

As Luke headed back to the kitchen, Lorelai turned to her daughter and Dean. "So, any plans for New Year's?" 

"Well, Madeline and Louise invited me to a party they are having. Needless to say, Paris nearly blew her head off," Rory replied, smiling. 

"Do you really think that you should be going to a party with those girls? I mean, I know you need to branch out and make more friends, but are you forgetting the Bangles concert and how—," Lorelai began before Rory cut her off. 

"I haven't said I would go yet. I didn't really think I would go to any party this year. I thought that maybe all of us could just hang out here in Stars Hollow. You know, the three of us, Luke, Lane, Sookie…" 

Lorelai smiled. "I like that idea much better. You up for it, Narcolepsy boy?" 

Returning the grin, Dean replied that he would. "Me and a bunch of girls? Why not!" 

Rory looked at her mother and quietly said, "He knows I'm not the jealous type." 

At that moment, Luke returned with a four plates of cheeseburgers. Lorelai took one from him and placed it in front of the waffle's chair. "Here you go, Philip." 

Luke rolled his eyes and gave the other two their plates, though continued staring at his crazy friend. 

"Hey Luke!" Rory exclaimed, catching his attention. "You want to spend New Year's with us? We're having a little get-together at our house." 

"Well, I will have to check—," he began. 

"Great! We'll see you there! And feel free to bring Jess if he doesn't have any other plans," Lorelai said, interrupting him. "We'll see you at eight." Luke continued to stand at their table, trying to tell Lorelai that he didn't know if he could make it. "No! You're coming! Now shoo!" 

Backing away, Luke thought to himself, "_New Year's at the Gilmore house. This'll be a trip!_"

***

More soon!! Please tell me what you think so far! And I was having fun getting carried away with that whole waffle thing. Sorry about that!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**By The New Year's Light  
**_A "Gilmore Girls" Fan Fiction_  
_By MissKate_

_Chapter 3..._

New Year's Eve was finally upon Stars Hollow and Lorelai reluctantly gave Rory the privilege of garnishing their home while she was at work. "Now, I don't want to find _any_ decoration of _any _sort that can be found in my mother's _tragically_ perfect house within a five mile radius of this house. Understand?"

Rory nodded in reply as she pushed her pleading mother out the front door, ideas already whipping about her mind. The gathering had been her suggestion in the first place, so she had decided that she was going to make it one that she and her friends would remember for decades on end. Closing the door after Lorelai, Rory stepped into the hallway between the kitchen and the family room, her eyes shuffling between the two. "Maybe I'll need Philip to help," she said before running up the stairs to find decorations in the attic.

It was a half hour later before Rory came down again, nearly falling down the stairs, with a box almost as big as her struggling to free itself from her hands. At the bottom of the staircase, she carelessly dropped the package at her feet. "Why they make boxes this big, I'll never know. It's not like anyone can ever carry them without hurting themselves!" she said out loud while rubbing her right arm. Recovering quickly, Rory decided that it was time to get to work and hastily dug into the box. One by one, she pulled potential decorations out of the mess. She carefully examined each before adding them to the pile beside her, remaining content on trying to fulfill her dream of the perfect New Year's celebration.

Meanwhile, Lorelai wandered aimlessly around the Independence Inn, trying to find someone that needed her assistance.

"Hey, Michel! You need some help…uh…what are you doing?" Standing on top of a stool that had been moved from behind the main desk, Michel was staring at the ceiling, searching she assumed, with a glass cup in hand.

"That insufferable woman over there _thought_ she saw a bug and, needless to say, sent me to scour about the entire inn trying to find the pest," the Frenchman said, his eyes still examining the ceiling. "She made it perfectly clear that I was not to kill it, but to _remove _it."

Lorelai glanced over her shoulder to look for the woman Michel spoke of. "That one?" she asked. "The one with the curly white hair and sneakers on?"

"Yes," he replied, cringing, still scanning each nook and cranny.

"Oh, let me take care of it, you wuss" Lorelai told him as she turned to walk over to the woman where she was deeply engaged in a conversation with two others. "Excuse me, ma'am. Congratulations! You were the 27th guest to check into the inn this week and now you have won a lovely trip for two to the Waterloo Museum of Things that Crawl!" The woman looked stunned and was taken aback. "Would you like me to book the trip for you now, or would you like to hold onto it for a bit?"

"Umm…no…that's okay. Why don't you give it to another guest?" replied the startled woman.

Lorelai kindly nodded her head in affirmation and turned back to Michel. "You can come down from there. I don't think she will be bothering you any more."

Still smiling from the look on the old woman's stunned face, Lorelai headed into the kitchen where Sookie was hard at work adding this and that to her famous dishes.

"What are you so happy about?" Sookie asked, acknowledging her friend's presence.

"Just running off of the adrenaline high you get when you obliterate a pompous old lady's ego," Lorelai replied, leaning against a counter.

Sookie chuckled. "Are we going to have to send Rune in to sweep up the mess?"

"I think that if we just leave it alone, it'll just…go away!"

"And people wonder why your house is such a mess," Sookie replied.

"Oh!" Lorelai exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she had come into the kitchen in the first place. "Are you doing anything for New Year's tonight?"

"Jackson and I had only planned to watch a movie, which I am letting him choose, God help me. Why?"

"Well…Rory and I are throwing a little shindig and we were wondering if you might grace us with your presence," Lorelai said.

"Can Jackson come too?" Sookie asked hopeful.

Teasing her friend, Lorelai took it upon herself to ponder a bit. "I suppose…but no Rune! I have done enough favors for that man."

"Deal!" Sookie replied, happy to have some actual plans. "Now I don't have to watch 'Die Hard' for the fifth time!"

"We do what we can. See you tonight!" Lorelai said as she walked out the door, leaving a cheerful Sookie to tend to her deserts.

Three hours later, Lorelai headed for the door. "Michel!!!" she called before she stepped out. When he finally appeared, his face bestowing his usual grim expression, she continued. "I have to leave. You see, I have to…uh…tend to my sickly, old neighbor Mrs.…Mrs.…Appleby! It's a sad tale, really. Even on such a joyous occasion as New Year's Eve…she has no one to give her just a little cheer."

"Fine, I'll cover for you," Michel consented, not believing a word of her tale. "But because I will be doing my work AND yours, I want double the pay for the last hour I have left."

"Oh, all right," she hesitantly agreed. Once Michel had turned away, heading back to wherever it was he had come from, Lorelai poked her head into Sookie's kitchen. "Watch Michel for me, will you? Tell me _exactly_ what time he leaves here tonight."

"Okay…" Sookie responded in a curious tone as Lorelai, content with her answer, turned away.

As soon as she pulled into the driveway of her house, Lorelai knew that Rory had inherited her decorating skills. Brightly colored candles decorated the walkway up to the door and through the windows she could see streamers coming from every direction.

"Honey, I'm home!" she yelled as she stepped through the front door.

"Oh, hi mom!" Rory replied from another room, her voice muffled.

"Uh, where are you?"

"In here!"

"And here is…?" Lorelai continued to ask as she scanned about the house.

Walking into the kitchen, she spotted Rory on the floor with a handful of pieces of tape in her mouth and the roll of streamers in her hand, curiously taping dangling strands off of the table.

"Don't you think it would have been easier to have killed the table before you mummified it? Talk about cruelty!"

"Too messy. Figured I would just suffocate it to death instead. Anyway, this is for underneath the tablecloth," Rory responded.

Lorelai let her eyes wander through the rooms. "You really went all out this, didn't you?"

"Well, it's like I always say! If the American Society of Interior Designers could see me now!"

Lorelai walked over to the refrigerator and found it fully stocked. "How well I've trained you!" she told her daughter as she pulled out a Fresca.

"No! Can't you wait a little bit?" Rory yelled, hearing the familiar sound of soda cans clanging.

"Sorry, I can't. Life or death situation, and you don't want to be responsible for murder, do you?" Lorelai pleaded.

"You're impossible…" Rory said, turning her attention back to the streamers.

"Why, thank you!"

After taking a few sips from the Fresca, Lorelai got tired of the silence. "So, did you invite Lane before the streamers threatened to eat you alive?"

"Uh, yeah. She begged to come early because her mom is threatening to make her New Year's resolution be that she won't eat anything with artificial flavoring, so she'll be here at 7," Rory answered. "Oh, and I invited Henry too, but don't tell Lane. It's a surprise." 

Lorelai laughed. "Good, good. Sookie is bringing Jackson," she informed Rory.

"And Rune?"

"No. I made sure of it," she confirmed. 

"Well, then it looks like everyone will have someone to kiss at midnight except you and Luke…" Rory said as she went back to her decorating, leaving Lorelai with a perplexed look on her face.

***

More soon!! Please tell me what you think so far! I don't know how this compares to the previous chapters, but hopefully you like it just the same!!


	4. Chapter 4

**By The New Year's Light  
**_A "Gilmore Girls" Fan Fiction_  
_By MissKate_

_Chapter 4..._

As the final evening of 2001 approached, the Gilmore girls grew more anxious. Rory was on pins and needles because her party was finally coming together, and Lorelai felt herself beginning to feel the same way, but because she was happy to send the year into the past.

When the doorbell rang, the youngest Gilmore excitedly rushed down the stairs to greet her first guest. Lane, of course, matched Rory's enthusiasm as she stood outside the door, smiling widely as her friend invited her inside.

"Thank you so much for coming!" Rory said in a cheery voice as the two walked into the family room.

"Anytime! Anything to get out of that house," Lane replied. "I think that if I had stayed any longer, I would have _actually_ witnessed my mother raiding my room, finding my junk food stash, and then throwing the entire collection into the trash can."

"What a shame! I'm glad I could help," smirked Rory.

As the two began a conversation on the sofa, Lorelai bounced down the stairs in the brightest of spirits. "Happy New Year, Lane!" she exclaimed when she spotted their first visitor. "Just think…this will be the last party we ever throw in 2001. The last time we ever eat ice cream sundaes in 2001…"

"How right you are," Rory said.

"The last time we will ever drink…ANYTHING in 2001."

"Yes, Mom…"

Lorelai continued. "The last time we will ever excuse ourselves for not fulfilling our resolutions in 2001."

"Yes, Mom…"

In a bemused state, Lorelai headed for the kitchen, still occupying her mind with thoughts of what they will all be doing for the last time that year. After a couple of seconds of near silence, Rory and Lane found themselves suddenly startled. "The last time we will ever have the chance to make fun of Luke!" Lorelai shouted at the realization.

Five Diet Pepsi's later, the sound of a car door slamming was heard, signaling the start of the evening. Lorelai jumped up anxiously to greet whoever was at the door, exhibiting the excitement of a child waiting for their birthday party to begin.

Opening the door, Luke's face was the first she saw. "Hello there, stranger," she said in a mocking voice.

"Yeah, hi," he replied. "You know, those candles out there could be a major fire hazard."

"Well, we like to live life on the dangerous side," Lorelai told him as she opened the door wider to let him in. "No Jess?"

"Oh, not tonight. He said that he and some other guys were going to see a movie or something tonight," he answered, shrugging off the question and pushing further through the doorway.

Once in the hallway, Luke looked around the house, his eyes wandering along the many streamers. "A little overboard?"

"The Gilmore girls? Overboard? Never!" Rory exclaimed. "Welcome to our humble abode!"

"Hi Rory, Lane."

"Whatcha got there…?" Lorelai asked in a cutesy voice coming up behind Luke, motioning to a package in his hand.

"Oh, right. This is for you," he said as he handed it to Lorelai who snatched it from him quickly. "A hostess present."

"How very Martha Stewart of you! Are you sure you're Luke and not Martha trying to steal my _amazing_ decorating techniques?"

"Funny," he replied in a dull tone.

Lorelai let her eyes scan the present and stopped when they came across some unappealing words. "Do not open until midnight? What kind of a deal is this?"

"Just that! You can't open it until midnight," he said as he turned to ignore her.

"Oh, come on! You're just trying to be mean to me. You know that I have no self-control!"

"No, I have my reasons…although that may be ONE of them…" he responded.

"Pleeeeease, Luke!" Lorelai began as she started hanging onto Luke's arm. "You know I can go on like this forever…" she stated, trying to whine her way to happiness.

Luke reached into his pocket. "Which is exactly why I brought these," he said as he opened his hand and showed two earplugs.

"Ah! Outwitted again…" Lorelai said to herself as she walked to the couch to sulk.

Only seconds later, the doorbell rang again, instantly removing the pouting fit from Lorelai's mind.

"Come on in!" Lorelai and Rory shouted at the same time towards the door.

Soon after their words were muttered, Sookie and Jackson showed their faces from around the corner. "We have a surprise!" Sookie exclaimed with a forced smile.

"Well, you know I always love surprises!" Lorelai responded.

Just as she was finishing her statement, Rune's voice carried in from the front walkway. "What kind of an idiot puts candles where people _walk_?"

Lorelai buried her head in her hand. "Except ones that come with that man attached…"

"It's nice to see you, too," Rune said as he entered, knocking Sookie and Jackson out of his way as he pushed into the family room.

"So I guess there will be _three_ people without someone to kiss," Lorelai said quietly to Rory.

"Four…" Rory reminded her mom as she motioned towards Lane, hoping that the surprise was not given away.

"Right…Well! Come on in! Plenty of room!" Lorelai declared, trying to make her friends feel welcome.

"Hmmm…" Sookie sighed in an amused way, looking in Luke's direction.

"What?" he asked, noticing the glance.

"There's something different about you tonight…" she replied.

"Oh! You're right!" Lorelai interjected.

The two looked up and down Luke until he finally stood up saying, "What is it about me that causes this kind of behavior?"

"Oh, you're just so dreamy that we have to find ways to stare at you!" Lorelai responded.

"That's enough…I'm grabbing a coke!" Luke yelled as he stormed into the kitchen, leaving Lorelai and Sookie smirking.

The doorbell rang just as Luke was about to enter the room. "Saved by the bell," he said before he turned to answer it.

"Look who I found wandering around outside," Dean said as he stepped into the room, followed by Henry.

Rory smiled as she saw her friend's face light up when she saw Henry. "Oh, Henry!" Lane shouted as she jumped off the couch and greeted him.

"She likes mysterious candy bar references," Rory informed her mother, who nodded in response.

"Now there are three…" Lorelai said slightly above a whisper, allowing the new guests to hear her comment as well.

Smiling, Rory rose from the couch to say hello to Dean, as Luke reentered the room. "Maybe we should move this party elsewhere. It's getting a bit crowded." 

"I agree," Lorelai said, standing. "To the kitchen!"

***

More soon!! Please tell me what you think so far! Even if you have reviewed previous chapters, I would LOVE to hear what you think of this and one(s) to come!! Sorry that I didn't write much in this one!! I haven't had as much time as I would like to have. I will finish this story on Friday, hopefully!!


	5. Chapter 5

**By The New Year's Light  
**_A "Gilmore Girls" Fan Fiction_  
_By MissKate_

A/N... Okay, I know it took a long time for me to post this, and, frankly, I have actually had this chapter done for a while. Well, it's not really done and that is why I never posted it. I keep getting threatening e-mail to finish this (you know who you are...hehe) so I thought I would at least post something. If you remember correctly, this took place when Rory and Dean were together, as well as (sort of) Lane and Henry. Also, Rune was around back then. Now, I know it isn't 2001, let alone 2002 anymore, but due to the high demand (high in my opinion), I am probably going to finish this story. If I don't get it done this month or even in May, rest assured, it should be finished this summer. And now, on with the story...

_Chapter 5..._

An hour had passed and the gathering was getting underway. People were scattered from wall to wall, talking in both large and small groups, while Lorelai bounced between them, adding her usual comments here and there. She watched as Rory hung onto Dean's sleeve and as Lane did the same to Henry, wondering why she couldn't manage to have that anymore. 

"Ah, young love," Lorelai said quietly to Sookie, who was opening a can of ginger ale. 

"Envious much?" she replied. 

"What?" 

Sookie chuckled lightly. "Listen, I see those 'subtle glances' you cast at Luke. And, on the 'down-low,' it goes both ways!" 

"I think that maybe you are overdue for an eye appointment, Sookie," Lorelai began. "Come to think of it, Stars Hollow should really get its _own_ eye doctor. You know, one that makes house calls! Then he can roam from house to house checking on _all _the suspicious people. People that have been making wild assumptions!" 

"I'll get right on that," Sookie responded before heading back over to Jackson who had been keeping to himself ever since she left. 

Trying to rid herself of Sookie's extreme comments, Lorelai walked up alongside Luke and nudged his arm. "So…is it midnight yet?" she asked in an inquisitive voice. 

"No." 

"Well…we could pretend, couldn't we? Happy New Year!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I'll grab my present!" 

Luke caught her arm just as she was turning away. "No. You only have to wait two more hours." 

"You're no fun, you know that?" Lorelai pouted. 

"It just so happens that I do know that, and you know what? I don't care!" 

Lorelai watched as Luke walked away, but shouted "I will break you before this night is over, Luke Danes!" while he was still within earshot. 

The doorbell rang, slightly startling Lorelai. "_Nine people, and that is already one more than expected… Who_ _could be left?_" she said to herself, looking around the room to the people that were oblivious to the newcomers. "Nobody move! I'll get it…" 

Lorealai approached the door but stopped short of it, seeing her mother make pushing through on her own. "Why, hello Lorelai!" Emily Gilmore exclaimed in an unusually cheerful voice as she saw her daughter. 

"You were expecting someone else?" Lorelai asked as she struggled to recover from the sight of seeing the older Gilmore girl. "Where's Dad? What are you doing here?" 

"One question at a time…but aren't you going to let me in first?" 

"Uh, no!" she replied. 

"Why not?" 

"Because…darn! I've got nothing…" she said, stepping back to make room in the hallway. 

Emily continued. "Your father is outside trying to get off the phone with someone from the country club. He will be inside shortly." 

"Okay…" 

Lorelai was still stunned by seeing her mother at her door, and happy. "Uh, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be throwing one of your own famous shindigs? Mine couldn't _possibly_ compare! Look! My candle sticks are only 5 inches apart!" 

Emily brushed off the comment. "For your information, we thought that spending New Year's with our family would be more appropriate." 

Lorelai stood stunned, but only for a second. She turned her head towards the door as she heard footsteps coming up the walkway. "Candles. Just lovely. They're like…tiny little lanterns!" Richard recounted as he approached his wife and daughter. "Sorry that took me so long. Jamison never knows when to quit." 

Standing there stunned, Lorelai tried to comprehend what was going on. Sure, she was beginning to get along better with her parents, and she was happy about that, but how did they even know about the party? And why were they so happy? "Uh, hi Dad. Glad you could stop by!" 

"Oh, we're not just stopping by," Emily told her. "Rory said that we could spend the night so that we didn't have the make the drive back to Hartford so late." 

"She did, huh?" Lorelai said, struggling to regain sanity. "_Tomorrow morning, she's getting a CAT scan."_

Emily pushed passed her daughter and walked into the hallway, followed by a joyful Richard and a bewildered Lorelai, her eyes wandering about the house. "Rory!" she called. 

Mere seconds passed before Rory appeared from the family room, ready to greet whomever summoned her. "Grandma! I'm glad you could make it!" she said as she walked up to both of her grandparents. "You too, Grandpa!" 

"So are we," Richard replied. 

"Come on! I want you to see my friends," Rory said as she took her grandma's hand and led her into the family room. 

The teenagers looked up as Rory and Emily approached. "You already know Dean and Lane, but this is Henry." 

"I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Gilmore," Henry told the woman. 

"Oh, the pleasure is mine," Emily replied. "You go to Chilton, don't you?" 

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" Henry answered in a confused tone. 

"I have my ways." 

Lorelai briskly walked up beside her mother. "Excuse me, but I need to have a quick word with Rory," she said as she tugged at her daughter's arm and led her over to the staircase. 

"You invited them? Why didn't you tell me?!" she asked persistently. 

"Because I knew you would freak out like this! Besides, look at them! They're already enjoying themselves! You wouldn't want to ruin that would you?" 

Lorelai looked at her daughter. "You would think that, wouldn't you?" 

"Come on…" Rory said trying to show Lorelai that their visit didn't have to be full of judgment and hostilities. "They aren't saying anything that could be remotely subjective." 

"No…you're right! But that's what scares me! I mean…my mother actually said that she would _rather_ be here," Lorelai responded. 

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "Then, just pretend that you are glad to see them," she replied, turning to walk away and leaving Lorelai behind. 

"There's something fishy going on here, and I, the _persistent_ Gilmore, am going to figure out what it is, if it's the last thing I do!" 

Lorelai sat down and glanced up at the clock for what seemed to be hours as only a mere minute ticked by. Annoyed, she walked back over to the kitchen, hoping to find her friends to help pass the time to midnight. It was Luke whom she saw again, smiling up at her from the chair where he sat. 

"So, your parents popped out of nowhere, again, huh?" 

"Yeah, something like that," she sighed, making her way over to the sink to pour a glass of water. 

"Well, only a couple hours to go and then they'll be gone." 

"Actually, they won't! Because my daughter, the little hostess, decided it would be too much trouble for them to leave at midnight." Lorelai slunk into the nearest chair and folded her arms on top of the kitchen table. 

Luke passed behind her as he made his exit, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "Anytime you feel like your head is going to explode, just…give a little snap and I'll steal you away from their death grip." 

"Oh, okay! Like a little code! Well, if you can't tell by the smoke rapidly coming out of my ears, how about I tug on my ear…or touch my nose five times! Or…or…I could just get on my hands and knees pleading with the ceiling for my knight in shining armor to arrive and pull me to the light!" 

"One of these days your head is going to explode just because of your thought process," Luke said as he left the room leaving Lorelai still trying to come up with ways to catch Luke's attention. 

It was not long before Lorelai was confronted with her source of terror…Emily Gilmore. "I've said it once before and I'll say it again. It certainly is an assorted bunch you have out there!" 

"Yeah, but you haven't seen one of our famous Labor Day soirées! The whole town gets a bit tipsy from the disgustingly addictive punch and then they finally end up ransacking Luke's Diner once they figure out he has been absent from their delightful festivities." 

"You will have to remind me of that one," Emily said, rather absentmindedly as she looked around the kitchen. "Have you done something new in here? It looks…different." 

Lorelai followed her mother's gaze but failed to see what she was referring to. "Well, the streamers are new. We thought that they would give the room a…certain flare that it was missing, if you know what I mean." 

"Really, Lorelai. You need to get this house straightened up. I did notice a few pieces of clothing hidden underneath the couch when I came in." 

_"I knew it! She couldn't resist!"_ Lorelai thought as she tried to maintain her composure. "Actually, I learned that little decorating tip from the ever-popular cable show 'Trading Spaces.' Well, that and the moss growing from the ceiling in Rory's room." 

"What?" Emily shouted while standing up, appalled at the comment. 

"Relax mom! It was joke! Although they did do that to some unfortunate woman's house." 

Emily sighed, returning to her seat. "What _am_ I going to do with you, Lorelai? Not only do you wish that I were not here, but you continue making witty remarks without the slightest provocation!" 

Lorelai nonchalantly tugged at her ear lobe while searching frantically for Luke's backwards baseball cap, hoping it was still atop his head. "_Damn. The ONE, okay, two thousandth, time I actually need his help, he goes and makes himself scarce."_

Without noticing her daughter's desperate behavior, Emily continued. "I mean, would it kill you to show a little kindness toward me once in a while? What do I do to deserve this kind of behavior?" 

Lorelai nearly leapt out of her seat when she finally saw the object of her mind's desire. Again, she started pulling at her ear lobe, although a bit more harshly, but failed to catch Luke's eye. As Emily rambled on, Lorelai only caught a few words here and there, focusing more on her attempt to be rescued by prince charming, although knowing she would have to settle for Luke. He was anything _but_ charming. 

"I mean, moss on the ceiling. Who would scare someone like that? Can imagine my fear? It is almost matched by my knowing the conditions you two live in, day after day. I am not blind you know. I also saw the two-week old bottle of orange juice in your refrigerator." 

"We have orange juice?" Lorelai said enthusiastically, perking up at the mention of food. 

Emily rolled her eyes, resuming her rant. "That is beside the point, Lorelai!" she persisted, losing her daughter's interest once again. 

Nodding without thought, Lorelai drummed her index finger on her nose, staring at Luke as she did so, hoping he would turn and see her obvious signs of struggle. 

The words pouring from her mother's mouth were completely unheard now. _"I have to get out of here,"_ she told herself. As casually as she knew how, she swept her arm into the air, hoping the gesture was large enough to catch Luke's attention. 

It wasn't. But Emily noticed. "What was that?" 

"What was what?" 

"What you just did?" 

"What did I just do?" 

"I don't know! That's why I asked!" 

"Oh, you mean this?" she asked before flipping her hair. 

"No, it was a very distinct--," she began before waving her arm as Lorelai did. 

"You must have been mistaken. It was definitely a--," Lorelai said before flipping her hair once more. 

"Well, please keep the hair flailing to a minimum. You don't want your guests to complain of hair in their food, do you?" 

"No, mother. Of course not," Lorelai responded in a monotone voice. 

Emily rose from the table, making Lorelai believe she was safe. "_Please let her be going to find Rory," _she prayed with no such luck. 

Holding up a bottle of red wine, Emily offered her daughter some. "No, no. I want some real booze, damnit." 

"Lorelai!" her mother shrieked. 

"It's my party and I'll swear if I want to." 

As Emily turned her back to make drinks for the two, Lorelai saw her chance, brief as it was. She started waving her arms at Luke, tugging at her ear, and tapping her nose all at once. Nearly falling out of her chair in the process, Luke finally saw her and wandered over, arriving just as Emily was about to sit. 

"Hello there, Emily," Luke said in his most amiable voice. 

"Mom, you remember Luke, don't you?" 

"You ask me that every time we cross paths. So you think I'm senile?" 

"Well," she began before Luke cut her off. 

"I hope you will forgive me, but I promised Lorelai that before the New Year, we would--," he started before Lorelai broke in. 

"--make-out in the back of his truck. While our son watches." And with that, a smiling Lorelai looped her arm through Luke's and started off, only pausing and retracing her steps when she remembered the alcohol she was expected to drink. "Thanks mom," she remembered to say before heading off into the party once again. 

Once they were in the clear, Luke stopped. "She's not going to like me now, you know." 

"Oh, join the club. And what makes you think she liked you before this?" 

"Perhaps her not avoiding me the way she does Patty," he retorted. 

"She doesn't hate Patty. She just…doesn't agree with her 'flirtatious acts' against my father," Lorelai said before focusing on a more important matter. "Now, what took you so long? I was waving my arms like a hitchhiker out of Bellevue!" 

Luke smiled. "I thought we agreed you were going to snap." 

"You're a sly one, Luke Danes. Maybe a little too sly," she supposed in a mischievous tone before heading off to mingle. 

"What? You've given up on the present now?" 

Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks and walked briskly back to where she had been standing. "What do you know? Tell me now." 

"Look at your watch," he whispered. 

"11:13. You're a vicious man, Luke." 

"Ah, but now you only have to wait 47 minutes," he replied. 

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That's what you think," she said before scampering to where she last saw his secret gift, knowing he was trailing right behind her. 

"Now, Lorelai. Don't do anything you will regret later. You don't want to spoil the feeling of opening this when you are _supposed_ to, do you?" 

"Of course I do!" 

"Well, either way, I'm not going to let you. You know the rules. And look! Only 45 minutes now." 

"I hate you!" she yelled before leaving the room, returning only to add, "Just kidding!" Luke simply rolled his eyes. 

Lorelai passed by Sookie and Jackson who were cuddling on the couch talking to Emily. 

"Lorelai! Isn't this the Christmas card I sent you two years ago?" she questioned, lifting the top card in a stack of thirty. 

"Man! I thought Rory threw those under the couch…" she sighed before wandering on. 

Lorelai found herself in the kitchen and gazing briefly through the door to the porch, she spied Rory, Dean, Lane, and Henry engaged in a meaningless teen-age conversation. "Hey! My people!" she yelled, pushing through the door, leaving the high schoolers somewhat stunned. "Give me some good gossip. I _need_ some good gossip." 

"Did Grandma catch up with you?" 

"You could say that." 

"I forgot to tell you that she found our Christmas card collection, but she seemed pleased to see we managed to hold onto some of hers." 

Lorelai sighed and leaned against the railing. "Enough about that. There isn't too much time until midnight. I hope you crazy kids have gotten done all you wanted to this year." 

"I think I had one thing left to do," Dean smirked as he leaned down and kissed Rory quickly. 

"Keep your hands where I can see them young man," Lorelai told him, to which he smiled. "Oh, don't think I'm kidding, narcoleptic boy." 

"What time is it?" Lane asked anxiously. 

Lorelai looked at her watch, half for Lane and half for herself. She wanted that gift! Luke's anal behavior over it forced her to believe that it was going to be overwhelming. "We still have 30 minutes, it seems." 

"Okay. We'll come back in after a few more minutes," Rory told her mother. 

"Alright, but save the kissin' for midnight." And with that, Lorelai headed back into the house, ready to pass the time between the present and the _present_.

***

More later!! Please tell me what you think so far! Even if you have reviewed previous chapters, I would LOVE to hear what you think of this and one(s) to come!!


End file.
